Reviews of best practices on Proxibid.com

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Rankings stabilize; some houses dropped; views keep rising!

For the first time in our four-year history, no new auction house has been added to our rankings. But there has been movement. We have seen continual improvement in the past year in four houses in particular–Back to the Past Collectibles, Star Coin and Currency, A New Day Auctions, and Auctions by Wallace–breaking into the top 10. Other houses, not named here, have been dropped. We’ll share the reasons. Finally, our audience now exceeds 55,000 views worldwide!

We’ll begin with our consistent leaders–Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction and Capitol Coin Auction–which hold the top spots because of quality control across the spectrum, including photos, shipping, buyer’s premium, quality consignments and numismatic accuracy. In other words, when Dave Weaver or Brad Lisembee say a coin is gem, you can be relatively sure it is or is close to being so by PCGS standards, the toughest grading company in the business.

You may not know it, but Dave and Cheryl Weaver and Brad Lisembee worked with us early in Proxiblog’s existence to follow best practices. And then both not only adopted them but added to them and came up with innovations of their own.

Star Coin and Currency did the same thing about 1 1/2 years ago and now is an exceptional house. C. Scott Lovejoy of Back to the Past Collectibles not only embraced our best practices but worked with us on photography and now is a hair behind our top houses. With a few more choice consignments, this may be a front-runner soon. And Kendra Stevens and Sheena Wallace are following our best practices now, and you can clearly see it in photos, lot descriptions and much more.

Our other trusty stand-bys in the top tiers of our rankings continue to excite us every time they schedule an auction. A few still can improve, however. Jewelry Exchange, SilverTowne Auction (which has the best consignments on the portal), Rolling M. Auctions (the best marketing), and Kaufman Auction need to sharpen their photography one more notch to capture luster and clarity (so varieties can be discerned).

Charles Commander, owner of Midwest Coins, did something very praiseworthy during the summer in his auctions: He asked bidders how he could improve. As we’re also an occasional bidder in his auctions, and consider Charles a friend and fellow Iowan numismatist, we strongly encourage him to work a little more on photography.

We’ll give one example that can serve for our entire critique.

Deep mirror proof-like raw coins used to be difficult to photograph. Not really any more. Here’s an example from Rolling M.:

Here’s a photo we took without a tripod or light box with our Samsung Galazy 4 smartphone:

Which photo do you think would start a bidding war? Rolling M. in our view probably can claim the best realized prices on the portal. Mark Murphy is that good. But even in the best there is room for improvement.

Also, we are having a problem with some of our favorite houses. You know who you are. Here’s the issue at hand: We know coin dealers–not ones scheduling events on Proxibid–but ones sending consignments to houses on the portal. A few of our favorite houses are in danger of being dropped because they receive dipped, doctored and otherwise dealer rejects hyped in lot descriptions.

We encourage ANY Proxibid house to take care when accepting consignments from coin dealers. Why would they look to you to sell their coins when they own coin shops? Answer: They don’t want these damaged, cleaned, scratched, carbon-spotted coins in their display windows.

We dropped one house because of that this month.

We are also dropping houses that insist on calling counterfeit California plated brass replicas “gold,” “fractional gold,” “tokens,” etc. By the way, there are collectible gold tokens but ones with bears on the reverse are fake and genuine tokens difficult to identify without numismatic knowledge.

Standards during the summer on Proxibid fell rather than rose in our opinion. We’ll share the evidence in the next month or two. We are holding the portal responsible for not requiring auctioneers to change lots that are clearly misidentified. Here’s an example:

This auction had at least three misidentified lots. The one above is not an 1889-S but an 1889, less rare. We used the “Report the Item” multiple times, and nothing was changed. We know mistakes happen. But Proxibid has an obligation to bidders to ensure that misidentified lots are corrected–not for the onsite crowd–but for the Internet ones.

We also saw counterfeits being sold. In one lot in particular a house warned bidders that a purported rare coin might be counterfeit. It was clearly a fake. We provided proof. We used the report the item button. The lot remained online and sold.

Don’t get us wrong: We promote Proxibid whenever we can. And the company has taken out full-page ads, very slick, in Coin World and other venues. But we also need to point out where the company can do better, and this is one area. When someone uses the “Report the Item,” it is your obligation not only to inform the auctioneer but to consider what is being said and to correct obvious errors or misrepresentations. By including the “Report the Item” as a Proxibid feature of trust, the company’s brand, you are now responsible to see these things through.

Regularly scheduled events on Proxibid play into rankings. Some of our best houses are dropping in the ratings because they have not scheduled a recent coin auction.

Our favorite houses are just that–ours. Your experience may differ from ours.

As for Proxiblog, we keep growing. We drew more than 13,500 viewers in the past year–with one strange demographic: Brazil has overtaken Britain as our third most popular country after the USA and Canada. Maybe it was the World Cup and all those fans gathering this summer in that country.

Our all-time views now total 55,177!

We continue to provide best practices and numismatic knowledge to our viewers for free. Please consider making a donation. We are on hiatus at the moment but post every weekday during September-June. We do this for educational purposes, informing viewers about numismatics as well as funding scholarships for Iowa State University students.

Fortunately, we have several of our top houses donating funds to our scholarship account. You can also buy our new work, Online Coin Auctioneering or Basic Coin Design on Kindle. We are extremely grateful. Won’t you consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Iowa State Foundation so that we can continue publishing? Thank you for your consideration!

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.

One serious concern – I bid on a seller’s lot well before the start of the auction. I am high bidder going into the auction – BUT – I do not win this item, it is sold to an on site bidder – for the exact same price I earlier bid. Why is this an “accepted” bid?

Thanks again for posting a comment like this. It’s an important question. There are two common reasons this happens. Say you have a maximum bid of $100 on a coin. The auctioneer doesn’t start bidding at the maximum bid but opens at, say, $30, to get the onsite crowd bidding. Up go the bids. Now increments come into play … $90; “Do I hear $95”; “Do I hear $100?” Now the onsite bidder is at your maximum. The auctioneer says, “Do I hear $110? Last call. Final Warning. Sold” … to the onsite bidder. But there’s another scenario. It happens rarely, but it does happen and it is unethical. The coin has a hidden reserve of $150 and the onsite and online bids are scarce. The auctioneer gets the bid up to $80 and is looking at a big loss … and so jumps to your maximum bid … and pretends an onsite buyer bid it up to that level. In doing so, the coin doesn’t sell, is recycled for another day, and in saying “sold onsite,” bypasses Proxibid fees. When questioned, the auctioneer can claim the coin was sold in multiple venues, including AuctionZip and iCollector.

Please Support Our Scholarship Fund?

We provide Proxiblog for free to 50,000+ viewers worldwide. If you find our service helpful, would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to Iowa State University to support the next generation of bidders?

ALL TIME FAVORITE SELLERS:

NOTE: Auction houses in our top rankings do not see maximum bids or allow bidding by auctioneers or their employees. All rankings are based on Proxiblog buying experience to establish informed opinion. Your online experience may differ from ours or these reviews.

1. Capitol Coin Auctions25 points. One of the most professional coin houses on the portal and, in our opinion, one of the top sellers on Internet. Low buyer’s fee, 15%. Consignments are among the best, and owners write accurate lot descriptions that are of PCGS accuracy. Great photos, too--among the best on Proxibid. More than 35 years in the business. Hosts only a half dozen sessions per year, but each is an event with coins from estates. Never overlook this house on Proxibid.
2. Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction 25 points. Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction. Detailed photography. Best innovation. Top online advertisements. Numismatic descriptions. Low or tiered buyer's fees. Runs budget-saver auctions. Highly competitive, innovative. Provides detailed receipts for both buyers and sellers. Very responsive. See "On the Block" entry for more information. Usually ships within 3-4 days.
3. Fox Valley Coins24.5 points. One of our favorite Proxibid houses. Excellent consignments. This is the place where the best buys on the portal can be had if the bidder knows numismatics. We are excited to participate in each auction because of the vast array of key dates, varieties and rarities. Schedules only a few mega-auctions per year on Proxibid, but each one is an event! Now accepts credit cards. Photography greatly improved, which makes up for the lack of numismatic descriptions. Buyer’s premium is 18%.
4. SilverTowne Auctions24.5 points. Exceeds basic criteria in both buying and consignor categories. Among best coin grading and descriptions on Proxibid. Top consignment policy for rare coins. Timed auctions offer great bargains with good selections. Accepts returns on counterfeit coins or if error made in description. Among fastest shippers on Proxibid using numismatic packing. Usually ships within 1-2 days.
5. Leonard Auction24.5 points. Among the best consignments on Proxibid, and for good reason, too. John Leonard's policies of 0% seller's fee for lots that bring $250 or more ensures top numismatic items. Completely thorough lot descriptions. Quick shipping. Professional customer service. For more about this reputable house, see this "On the Block."6. Jewelry Exchange24.5 points. A long-standing reputable auction house featuring regular coin consignments, including gold, US and World coins (and on occasion Ancients) with 15% buyer’s premium, great customer service and quick shipping. Photography adequate; lot descriptions, accurate. See the company’s “On the Block” by clicking here.7. Krueger and Krueger Auction24.5 points. Kurt Krueger is a seasoned numismatist who conducts exemplary auctions on Proxibid. This house also is innovative and understands the importance of the online audience. Of particular note is his accurate lot descriptions. He’s not afraid to say “Hogwash” to bottom-tier alleged grades, and we love him for that.
8. Back to the Past Collectibles24.5 points. 10% online buyer’s fee. Excellent photos. Quick shipping. Auctioneer C. Scott Lovejoy has made significant improvements and secured fine consignments. We admire houses like his that aim to please the online bidder! Rapidly becoming one of the top coin auctions on Proxiblog.
9. Star Coin and Currency24.5 points. One of the best timed auctions on the portal. Keeps improving. Yet another company that pays attention to customer service. Sharp photography. Numismatic descriptions. Inexpensive, fast shipping.
10. Meares Auction24.5 points. Charges 5% online buyer's fee for coins. See this article for Darron Meares' innovations. Improved photography. Courteous customer service. Ships reasonably and quickly. Knows coins. One of the longest Proxibid sellers and top auction house; nationally recognized as leader in industry.
11. Kaufman Realty and Auctions 24.5 points. Kaufman Realty features strong consignments, fair photos, numismatic lot descriptions and regular coin auctions. 15% buyer’s fee makes looking here a must. Shipping time is improving. Always worth the wait.
12. McKee Coin Auction24.5 points. Charges 20% buyer's premium and doesn’t use APN, but gives 5% cash discount and uses PayPal. Consignments are improving, and photography is vastly improved. We know Owen McKee and are pleased that he is sharing his vast numismatic knowledge in his descriptions. You can also find the unexpected in his two-day 1500+ marathons, including Canadian coins. Shipping is reasonable but charges $1 per lot handling fee.
For other companies meeting basic criteria, click here.

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